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The 10 Cities With The Highest Teacher Salaries For 2019

By Chris Kolmar
May. 17, 2019

Find a Job You Really Want In

Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do teachers get paid where I live?

And while there are many things to go into how much you can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for teachers by city across America broken down by seniority level. These averages give you a very good sense of what to expect for your salary.

So to better understand how teacher salaries change across American cities, we decided to take a look the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on average pay for teachers in the biggest cities across America.

Additionally, we wanted to adjust the salary based on the cost of living — because your salary goes further in Cleveland than it does in San Francisco.

So what’s the city with the best salary for teachers after this adjustment? That would be Secondary School Teachers, Except Special And Career/Technical Education.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten cities for teacher salaries:

  1. Las Cruces, NM
  2. East Stroudsburg, PA
  3. Lebanon, PA
  4. Hanford, CA
  5. Cleveland, OH
  6. Danbury, CT
  7. El Paso, TX
  8. El Centro, CA
  9. Brunswick, GA
  10. Bakersfield, CA

Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of the top 100 cities.




If you’re interested, you can read more about the job scene here:

How we determined a teacher pay by city in America

As we mentioned earlier, we took the average annual salary data for teachers from the 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics — specifically their ‘Occupational Employment Statistics’.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across cities, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

This left us with enough data for 317 metro areas across the country. We then took the primary area of the metro and labeled that the ‘city’ for this analysis. So, for example, ‘Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division’ became simply Boston.

We then created an index by dividing the average wage for a city by the living wage in that state. As an example, the living wage in NM is $48,050 and the average teacher pay in Las Cruces is $78,350, so our index value would be:

$48,050 / $78,350 = $0.6

We then ranked every city on this criteria with the city with the highest salary index ranking as highest average salary for teachers.

Here’s a quick look at the top ten.

1. Las Cruces, NM

Las Cruces, NM

Source: Public domain

Total Jobs: 1,210
Average Annual Salary: $78,350
Average Entry Level Salary: $57,460
Average Experienced Salary: $100,830
Location Quotient: 2.36

2. East Stroudsburg, PA

East Stroudsburg, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0

Total Jobs: 760
Average Annual Salary: $75,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,940
Average Experienced Salary: $99,180
Location Quotient: 1.89

3. Lebanon, PA

Lebanon, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Search4Lancer a | GFDL

Total Jobs: 590
Average Annual Salary: $70,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,410
Average Experienced Salary: $97,950
Location Quotient: 1.65

4. Hanford, CA

Hanford, CA

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL

Total Jobs: 430
Average Annual Salary: $82,580
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,860
Average Experienced Salary: $108,150
Location Quotient: 1.39

5. Cleveland, OH

Cleveland, OH

Source: Flickr User Tim Evanson | CC BY-SA 2.0

Total Jobs: 9,710
Average Annual Salary: $67,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $43,840
Average Experienced Salary: $94,740
Location Quotient: 1.29

6. Danbury, CT

Danbury, CT

Source: Public domain

Total Jobs: 910
Average Annual Salary: $81,090
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,850
Average Experienced Salary: $103,090
Location Quotient: 1.6

7. El Paso, TX

El Paso, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Dicklyon | CC BY-SA 4.0

Total Jobs: 3,370
Average Annual Salary: $65,330
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,010
Average Experienced Salary: $81,820
Location Quotient: 1.52

8. El Centro, CA

El Centro, CA

Source: Wikipedia User [2] | CC BY 2.0

Total Jobs: 540
Average Annual Salary: $81,010
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,800
Average Experienced Salary: $109,580
Location Quotient: 1.26

9. Brunswick, GA

Brunswick, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Alan Cressler f | CC BY-SA 2.0

Total Jobs: 320
Average Annual Salary: $79,800
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,920
Average Experienced Salary: $102,420
Location Quotient: 1.03

10. Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY-SA 2.5

Total Jobs: 2,270
Average Annual Salary: $101,710
Average Entry Level Salary: $78,160
Average Experienced Salary: $127,520
Location Quotient: 1.02

And that’s our list of the cities with the highest salaries for teachers

If you’re looking to start out your career as a teacher and want to get paid the most, check out these cities.

If you’re curious, here are the cities with the lowest pay for teachers in America:

  1. Gainesville
  2. Tallahassee
  3. Flagstaff

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cities With The Highest Salaries For Teachers

Rank City Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Las Cruces, NM $78,350 $57,460 1,210
2 East Stroudsburg, PA $75,100 $53,940 760
3 Lebanon, PA $70,750 $47,410 590
4 Hanford, CA $82,580 $53,860 430
5 Cleveland, OH $67,470 $43,840 9,710
6 Danbury, CT $81,090 $54,850 910
7 El Paso, TX $65,330 $45,010 3,370
8 El Centro, CA $81,010 $52,800 540
9 Brunswick, GA $79,800 $53,920 320
10 Bakersfield, CA $101,710 $78,160 2,270
11 Bridgeport, CT $82,400 $53,110 3,930
12 Laredo, TX $60,990 $45,020 1,130
13 Houston, TX $60,820 $51,890 29,110
14 Modesto, CA $79,050 $52,570 1,570
15 Canton, OH $62,460 $40,660 1,610
16 Fayetteville, AR $56,990 $41,740 2,370
17 Warner Robins, GA $62,030 $42,890 790
18 Chattanooga, TN $63,730 $43,220 2,020
19 Gettysburg, PA $71,480 $46,940 250
20 Kingston, NY $89,660 $65,260 410
21 Riverside, CA $81,830 $51,910 11,640
22 Vineland, NJ $69,340 $52,450 640
23 Ocean City, NJ $80,660 $56,180 270
24 Akron, OH $61,100 $38,540 3,870
25 Springfield, OH $60,520 $38,250 910
26 Springfield, MA $81,080 $52,980 2,710
27 Cheyenne, WY $65,670 $52,460 310
28 New York, NY $88,460 $53,080 69,130
29 Mcallen, TX $57,010 $43,070 4,170
30 Sherman, TX $59,970 $42,780 460
31 Shreveport, LA $59,030 $43,570 1,700
32 Toledo, OH $63,840 $39,000 2,520
33 Columbus, OH $63,460 $40,370 8,110
34 Dallas, TX $61,180 $48,540 27,530
35 Oxnard, CA $75,500 $48,200 3,150
36 Bloomsburg, PA $64,450 $41,220 510
37 Los Angeles, CA $80,330 $53,210 41,490
38 Albany, OR $68,450 $41,830 610
39 Lancaster, PA $64,530 $43,640 2,130
40 Elizabethtown, KY $56,910 $42,090 400
41 Mansfield, OH $54,250 $39,590 710
42 Fresno, CA $78,180 $47,570 3,250
43 Allentown, PA $69,860 $43,270 2,730
44 York, PA $66,440 $43,790 1,420
45 Provo, UT $71,210 $40,640 1,830
46 Philadelphia, PA $67,180 $42,940 22,870
47 Carbondale, IL $64,930 $44,670 510
48 Dayton, OH $64,450 $39,870 2,720
49 Providence, RI $71,870 $44,300 5,130
50 Owensboro, KY $58,540 $41,950 340
51 Reading, PA $67,540 $46,180 1,200
52 San Jose, CA $85,140 $54,670 6,550
53 New Haven, CT $78,330 $49,000 2,740
54 Hot Springs, AR $54,500 $40,800 300
55 Norwich, CT $74,600 $50,760 1,110
56 Sacramento, CA $79,090 $51,880 6,480
57 Corpus Christi, TX $62,400 $43,530 1,420
58 Leominster, MA $85,770 $44,540 660
59 Salem, OR $76,900 $48,290 1,020
60 Cincinnati, OH $61,070 $41,620 7,550
61 Chicago, IL $77,760 $44,410 32,620
62 Pittsburgh, PA $67,500 $40,430 10,170
63 Atlantic City, NJ $74,620 $52,530 840
64 Fairbanks, AK $73,840 $44,910 290
65 San Diego, CA $77,630 $50,070 10,570
66 Worcester, MA $74,260 $49,670 2,830
67 Hilton Head Island, SC $75,970 $43,740 410
68 Visalia, CA $74,570 $49,920 1,180
69 Anchorage, AK $80,370 $53,420 910
70 San Antonio, TX $59,480 $43,780 7,740
71 Lincoln, NE $55,510 $43,010 1,670
72 Louisville/jefferson County, KY $61,490 $42,820 3,440
73 Chambersburg, PA $65,370 $47,170 370
74 Portland, OR $77,910 $46,700 6,700
75 Glens Falls, NY $71,940 $46,920 690
76 New Bedford, MA $82,900 $45,100 620
77 Scranton, PA $66,330 $44,530 1,710
78 Florence, AL $50,860 $39,730 630
79 Amarillo, TX $56,630 $42,050 980
80 Memphis, TN $55,470 $41,720 4,990
81 Cleveland, TN $51,920 $40,070 520
82 Pine Bluff, AR $51,230 $37,010 340
83 Gainesville, GA $57,450 $40,040 810
84 Trenton, NJ $75,730 $54,200 1,260
85 Longview, WA $67,690 $48,640 210
86 Bremerton, WA $68,940 $49,180 490
87 Mount Vernon, WA $68,830 $53,760 250
88 Jackson, MI $66,040 $45,010 320
89 San Francisco, CA $83,080 $51,950 12,150
90 Kennewick, WA $67,850 $46,430 690
91 Wenatchee, WA $65,440 $46,220 290
92 Portsmouth, NH $67,200 $44,860 820
93 Auburn, AL $50,240 $39,120 610
94 Lexington, KY $58,470 $42,900 1,290
95 Ames, IA $64,060 $46,720 240
96 Grand Island, NE $63,780 $37,820 340
97 Anniston, AL $50,510 $40,270 390
98 St. Louis, MO $62,700 $35,960 10,570
99 Syracuse, NY $73,440 $48,580 2,460
100 Bismarck, ND $57,250 $41,580 480
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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